


Never Miss a Chance to Dance

by zhyixingie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - Dance, Ballet, Dance school AU, M/M, This is trash, This was just an excuse to write some Kaixing tbh, because #powerdancecouple, tons of other bands and band members are mentioned too, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 09:56:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10304054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhyixingie/pseuds/zhyixingie
Summary: Yixing was beginning to wonder why he had insisted on coming to Seoul.In which Yixing goes to a dance school whose golden boy is the one and only Kim Kai.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is legit just trash I wrote because I just read the book "Tiny Pretty Things" by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton and it got me in the ballet/dance school mood.
> 
> I KNOW THIS IS SO FUCKING UNREALISTIC OKAY. No one would ever make it into a dance academy without dancing for literally their entire life.
> 
> I also was a dancer for about 8 years so I tried to show some real anxieties/worries that occur to dancers within Yixing's internal thoughts (such as appearance and skill levels, etc) so I hope I made that realistic enough! I wasn't at all trying to critique Yixing IRL! (He's my bae so I think he's pretty perfect ngl)
> 
> This was really just for fun and to try out some new dynamics so I hope you all enjoy~!
> 
> also omg I was reading this over and I didn't write my literal angel Jongdae in for some reason?? I'm a bad person jfc. He'll be in the spinoffs though because yes. There will be spinoffs from this. You can count on it.
> 
> [follow me on twitter to watch me slowly die every time i try to write a fic?](https://twitter.com/zhyixingie)

Yixing was beginning to wonder why he had insisted on coming to Seoul.

               Why had he wanted to leave his quiet life back in China? He had been happy where he was. He had been happy to go to class at his local university during the day, take care of his little brothers in the afternoon, and help his mom in the evening. He had enjoyed hanging out with his friends on his spare time and loved going to concerts and dance clubs in the town over. He had been happy there. So why the hell had he decided he wanted to go to Seoul to study at a dance academy?

               He was sure his mom had said ‘yes’ to him auditioning because she thought he would never get in – he really shouldn’t have, if he was honest. He had never been trained before – only knowing people liked the way his body moved when he got into the ring of people at clubs to show off his skills – and he had adored watching the ballet girls perform in their school musicals and plays. He had been embarrassed when he tried to imitate their moves by himself in his room; so why did he think he’d be able to make it into a ballet school? He didn’t even look the part. All the other boys in the audition room were as petite as their girl counterparts, with thin legs coated with lean muscle, wiry arms that were already trained to fall into perfect form, and a flexibility Yixing was sure he’d never be able to achieve. He looked bulky next to all of them with his bulging leg muscles from years of playing soccer and working as a landscaper. He had been sure his newly-bought tights were going to rip when he had first tried to slip them over his calves. And his arms looked way too big in the frame he tried to imitate everyone around him, and overall he felt like a giant next to all the pretty boys.

               And the girls – he was scared he was going to break them in half. On the second day of auditions the teacher had called him out to show her his lifts – which he had been baffled by because ‘what the hell do you mean? There are no weights here’ before a tiny girl who couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds came fluttering over to him and he was expected to pick her up in some specific sort of way he wasn’t aware of. He managed to easily pick her up but was immediately scolded for his awful technique.

               When the letter from the school came in the mail nearly a month later, Yixing was sure it would be a rejection, and was confused as his eyes couldn’t take in the words of “congratulations.” His brothers and mom were already screaming and shaking him in happiness, yelling at him that he must have done extremely well to have gotten into such an elite school, but he _knew_ he hadn’t been even close to the other guys in talent – so why the hell had he gotten picked?

               He had packed his room up and moved to Seoul the following month, several weeks before classes actually started, so he could get used to the campus and living in Korea. He had taken the language in school for years, and thought he was pretty good, until he actually tried to speak to some native people who were baffled by the words coming off his tongue. From there, he stayed much quieter and only spoke when someone else talked to him.

               “Hello.” Yixing looked up from where he was shoving books onto his side’s shelf, that he really should have unpacked ages ago, to see a petite boy in his room’s doorframe carrying a backpack and suitcase. “I remember you – you got in?” The boy seemed pretty shocked at that concept. Yixing just flushed in embarrassment and nodded bashfully. “They must have been impressed with your passion,” the boy nodded to himself as though it were obvious. The small boy stepped forward and put out his hand to shake, “I’m Luhan – I was one of the judges at the auditions.”

               “Yixing,” Yixing blinked. “You’re Chinese?”

               Luhan nodded, “Yeah, but don’t worry, I’ve been here since middle school – it’s why my Korean is good, you’ll get better over time,” he winked at Yixing and moved to his own side of the room to begin unpacking. “There’s actually several Chinese guys in the school – and plenty of girls too, so don’t worry, you won’t be totally out of place.” Yixing couldn’t explain how much lighter that made his chest feel. “So, have you found the dining hall yet?” Luhan asked after he had flipped his backpack over to shake out the contents messily.

               “Uh,” Yixing stuttered. “No, I haven’t yet.”

               “Oh, did you just get here today too?” Luhan questioned, glancing around the room, probably confused that Yixing’s side definitely looked lived in.

               “No I’ve been here for two weeks,” he explained. “I’ve just been eating at cafes and going grocery shopping though – I didn’t really know there was a dining hall.”

               Luhan snorted a laugh before walking over and slinging an arm around Yixing’s shoulders, which was awkward since the boy was much shorter than him. “I like you – you’re funny. But here, I’ll show you to the dining hall and we can grab some lunch, good?”

               “Good,” Yixing nodded appreciatively.

 

               The dining hall apparently was right in the center of the campus, and was now surrounded by students who had finally moved in. Yixing couldn’t help, again, feeling like an outsider and, again, wondering why the hell he had come to this foreign country for a thing he had never even done before. The voices talking around him and Luhan as they walked through to the food lines were all so fast and sounded like gibberish in his mind. Yixing was sure his head was going to explode by the time he sat down with a plate of food he didn’t recognize.

               “So how old are you, Yixing?” Luhan asked as he shoved a huge wad of noodles into his mouth.

               “Twenty one,” Yixing mumbled as he nudged at something that kind of looked like a cake but might be rice – he wasn’t sure.

               “Ah!” Luhan grinned. “That means I’m your _hyung_!”

               “We’re both Chinese,” Yixing huffed. “Can’t we just speak in Chinese? And you’ll be my _gege_.”

               Luhan shrugged, “I try not to speak Chinese around here – most of the mandarin kids don’t – it makes us stand out even more.”

               “Is that a bad thing?” Yixing questioned.

               Luhan laughed humorlessly before noticing Yixing was serious. “Dude, what?” Luhan raised his eyebrow at him. “What dance school did you come from?”

               “I didn’t,” Yixing said simply.

               “You didn’t,” Luhan echoed.

               “I never danced before,” Yixing explained before he finally took a bite of his food.

               “What?” Luhan’s jaw dropped. “How the hell did you get in here then?” He exploded, causing a couple faces to turn towards them before he waved them off. He dropped his volume slightly, “What do you mean you never danced before? Sure you seemed oblivious and fucked up a bunch at your audition, but I figured it was just because you were nervous.”

               Yixing shook his head slowly, “No, I’ve never danced ballet before – I was just trying to copy everyone else.” Luhan stared at him, his mouth floundering like a fish, for several seconds before they were interrupted by several guys plopping down into the seats around them.

               “Hey Lu!” A small boy who sat directly next to Yixing’s roommate greeted, leaning over to kiss the Chinese boy on the cheek. “Whose this?” The boy asked, his mouth tugged into a friendly smile. Yixing decided the boy sort of looked like a squirrel – he was cute.

               “My new roommate,” Luhan explained. “Guys, this is Yixing. Yixing, these are my obnoxious friends,” Luhan rolled his eyes at them. “And my boyfriend – Minseok,” he said, pointing to the squirrel boy.

               “Yixing? You’re Chinese too then? Like Lu?” Minseok asked excitedly. Yixing nodded. “I’m learning mandarin,” Minseok said proudly, turning to Luhan to poke at his boyfriend’s chin. “He refuses to practice with me though, so will you do it instead?” Yixing agreed easily – the boy was just too adorable to say no to.

               “Besides Minseok,” Luhan interjected and began pointing at each of the other boys who were shoveling down food. “That’s Kyungsoo – he’s kind of evil and will most likely kill you if you ever take one of his positions in the ballets; he ran a kid out of school just last year.”

               The black haired boy glanced up, glaring. “I thought we all agreed not to talk about that,” the boy grunted.

               “What did he do?” Yixing asked, glancing back to his roommate and away from the slightly scary, very short boy.

               “This guy named Tao got the role of the Snow King in the winter Nutcracker performance – Kyungsoo had wanted that position but got the understudy instead, so Tao conveniently _fell_ down some stairs the day after the roles were announced,” Luhan stage whispered, cupping his hand over his mouth as though Kyungsoo wouldn’t be able to hear him. Kyungsoo was definitely scary – Yixing made a mental note to not piss him off.

               “I’m Baekhyun,” The chipper blonde boy greeted, bouncing in his seat. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only one whose not a ballet major,” he said, glancing around the group for confirmation. “I study tap.”

               “He has an irrational dream to be a rockette,” Minseok snorted.

               “Not irrational!” Baekhyun whined.

               “Baek, you’re not tall enough, nor are you a woman,” the tall guy next to him commented.

               “That’s Chanyeol,” Luhan explained at Yixing’s confused face. “He doesn’t actually go here – he just follows Baekhyun around like a puppy.”

               “Hey,” Chanyeol threw a French fry at Luhan’s face before turning to Yixing with a grin. “I go to Yonsei University – which is still here in Seoul, but I have a lot of free time since I’m a senior so I come and visit a lot.”

               “Meaning he’s literally always around,” Kyungsoo muttered as he nudged his food around on his plate.

               Yixing was a little disappointed the massively tall boy didn’t actually go to their school – he would have made Yixing feel a little bit better about not being five-foot-seven and a hundred pounds like the rest of these guys seemed to be. “Nice to meet you,” Yixing said with a shallow bow to each of them.

               “There’s also usually Kai,” Luhan said after a moment, as though remembering there should have been another person to introduce. “But he’s a fucking prima ballerina and is hardly ever around during the day – you’ll probably meet him tonight. He was another one of the judges at your audition – he was instructing leaps.” Yixing vaguely recalled there being a male teacher guy at his audition and how awkward his legs had felt as he tried to fly through the air like the other man did.

               “Even when he is around he’s usually sleeping,” Baekhyun giggled around the bite of food he had taken.

               “He’s obviously exhausted all the time, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo snapped at the other. “He works his ass off here.”

               “Kai is the school’s golden boy,” Minseok whispered to Yixing across Luhan as Baekhyun and Kyungsoo went back and forth at each other. “He’s always the lead male role in all the ballets, top of the class, and even teaches a couple courses and TA’s a bunch of others. Kyungsoo has a _bit_ of a crush on him.”

               “I do not!” Kyungsoo yelled at him. Minseok put his hands up in surrender.

               “He must be a great guy,” Yixing smiled at Kyungsoo who suddenly flushed and folded in on himself into his chair, grumbling to himself under his breath.

               “We’re just friends,” Kyungsoo said a bit louder. “We were just in the same dance company so I’m protective of him.” Yixing nodded in understanding while the other boys rolled their eyes.

               “Which dance company are you from, Yixing?” Baekhyun asked politely, leaning forward on his elbows and getting a little too close to Yixing.

               “Uh,” Yixing stammered.

               “He’s actually from my old dance company,” Luhan cut in, making Yixing stare at him in confusion. “He’s a few years younger though so I had no idea he was coming here,” Luhan laughed and patted Yixing on the shoulder while the others nodded in awe.

               “Lu’s dance company is amazing,” Baekhyun squeaked. “I can’t wait to see you dance, Xing!”

               Yixing just smiled at them and nodded, glancing sideways at his roommate who had gone back to whispering to his boyfriend. “I’m nowhere near as good as Luhan,” Yixing whispered, playing along with the other Chinese boy’s lie. “I’m in the level D classes.”

               “Well that’s where everyone starts,” Baekhyun shrugged. “I’m sure if you two are from the same company you’ll get to level A really quick,” Baekhyun grinned. “What grade are you in?”

               “In college I was going into junior year,” Yixing said after thinking for a moment. “But I guess I’m a freshman here? In the dance school? Because I didn't make it the first two years I tried out?” Yixing was surprised how easily the lie rolled off his tongue. Luhan and Baekhyun nodded in agreement. “I’m still not sure how all of that works here,” Yixing admittedly sheepishly.

               “You’ll catch up to us soon enough,” Baekhyun said cheerily. Yixing just nodded along.

               “Do you guys have weigh-in this afternoon?” Kyungsoo piped up after a moment. “I think everyone needs to go before classes actually start.”

               “Yeah mine’s this afternoon,” Luhan nodded; Minseok and Baekhyun nodding along with him.

               “We should all just head over together – I’m assuming we’re all in the 3:30 block?” Baekhyun asked, getting confirmation. Yixing looked between them before pulling out his phone; he was pretty sure he was supposed to go to the school nurse at 4:00. “Have you gotten weighed yet?”

               Yixing shook his head, “I’m right after you guys,” he reported. “But what do you do there?”

               “They take your height, weight, BMI, shit like that,” Luhan shrugged. “It’s mostly for those crazy chicks who starve themselves and get to be like eighty pounds or something crazy. Everyone here has to stay above a certain weight depending on their height – if not you get the boot because they don’t want to be liable or have a reputation of anorexic ballerinas.”

               “People really do that?” Yixing said in surprise. “How much are you supposed to weigh here?”

               “Our weight range is 120 to 150 pounds,” Baekhyun said, waving a hand between himself, Kyungsoo, Minseok and Luhan who all looked to be right around the same height and structure. “You’re a little taller so you might be a bit different?”

               “One hundred and twenty pounds?” Yixing gaped in surprise. “Do guys actually weigh that much?”

               “Kyungsoo dropped to 115 last semester,” Baekhyun said, pinching the other boy on the side where no excess body fat existed. “He got in such trouble!”

               “I gained it back though,” Kyungsoo grumbled. “I was just stressed and forgot to eat.”

               Yixing could feel his mouth opening and closing again like a shocked fish, but no words came out. He was way over his head here. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually checked his weight, but he was positive it would be nowhere close to these boys’. Even Chanyeol looked skinny sitting at the table with him.

               “Well, I’m gonna show Xing around a bit,” Luhan declared, standing from his spot and grabbing his empty plate. Yixing glanced down at his own which he sort of forgot to eat and was still filled with weird Korean food. He stood up anyways to follow his roommate out. “Don’t tell people you’ve never danced before,” Luhan hissed at him once they were out of earshot. Yixing stared at him as the smaller dumped the remains of his food and set the plate on the counter to be washed. Yixing imitated him. “You’ll get killed here if you tell people that.”

               “What?” Yixing asked in shocked. Luhan waved a hand at him.

               “Not literally, but people work their entire lives to get into as good of a dance academy as this one. To be honest, I’m a little pissed off even that I’ve been dancing since I was three and barely made it in and you just fucking waltzed in here and got a spot,” Luhan glared but quickly took a large breath to calm himself down. Luhan was a little scary too, Yixing decided. “So if you don’t want to get run out of this school, don’t tell people – a lot worse has happened than just Tao getting pushed down the stairs.” Yixing gulped, wondering if he even wanted to know. “If you’re telling the truth and you’ve really never danced, you’re about to get a wakeup call from this world – everyone is a bitch and no one can be trusted because if you get a role and they don’t, it doesn’t matter if you’ve known each other since birth, everyone will hate you.”

               “But why?” Yixing interjected. “Why wouldn’t you be happy your friend got a role?”

               “Because most people here are training to get into the company – and only the very top dancers get in. So, if you’re not getting the leads, you’re not getting into the company,” Luhan explained. Yixing nodded slowly, but still didn’t completely understand. “I still don’t get how you got in,” Luhan groaned. “No offence or anything, but that’s fucking insane.”  
               “Well, I’ve danced – just not ballet,” Yixing clarified. Luhan raised an eyebrow at him. “I did breakdance, and learned how to ballroom dance in high school,” Yixing hummed.

               “So that’s how you have rhythm – doesn’t explain why you were good at _ballet_ ,” Luhan huffed.

               Yixing perked up at that, “I was good?”

               Luhan glared at him, crossing his arms. “Yeah, you were,” Luhan sighed. “I was there when they were calculating scores – everyone figured you were an extremely talented dancer, and were just really nervous. Someone thought you might be a little slow or something, but you had enough passion for everyone else in the room.” Luhan paused, glancing around. “A couple people even said you rivaled Kai in that department.”

               Yixing stared, “Really?”

               Luhan nodded and began walking; Yixing trailed behind him. “Kai has always been an amazing dancer because he has talent a _nd_ passion – and he can show both. Most dancers are too serious. Most dancers stopped having fun years ago. Kai always has this look of bliss on his face when he dances – like it’s the most wonderful feeling in the world to have your toes bleeding and your legs burning. You… you were similar. Now I obviously know it was because you were _actually_ having fun probably because you were just learning everything and everything was new.” Yixing thought back to his audition and had to agree – he had had a ton of fun, although it was scary and he was nervous and felt like an idiot, he had been giddy at all the new feelings of what he could make his body do.

               “What should I do?” Yixing asked suddenly. “If everyone is expecting me to do something great, they’ll probably be watching me and notice I’m not actually a dancer and then kick me out,” Yixing gasped all in one breath – the weight of his accidental lie coming down hard on his shoulders.

               “Where the hell do you think I’m bringing you?” Luhan rolled his eyes then smiled up at Yixing. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back – what are roommates for?” Yixing blinked at the smaller boy as he strolled casually up to a building that seemed to be made completely out of windows. As the two of them made their way through, Yixing couldn’t help feel like he was at a normal college – students were sitting at desks with laptops out and coffees on their tables, chatting casually or getting ready for the semester to start. Eventually, though, Luhan stopped at a door and shoved it open. Yixing read ‘Studio E’ above it. “Yo, Kai!” Luhan called in greeting as he stepped into the room. Yixing stared around in wonder.

               Rather than being made out of windows, the room was made out of mirrors. The reflective glass lined three out of the four walls, and showed all sides of the boy standing in the center of the room. The floor was made out of perfectly polished wood panels, and upbeat music was blaring through the surround sound – meaning the room must also be incredibly well done with sound proof walls since Yixing hadn’t heard the tune before they opened the door. It seemed like the blonde guy was the only one here. And he was definitely the most impressive thing about the room.

               He was petite like all the other guys Yixing had met, but not nearly as much so. His arms and legs were lined with muscle much closer to Yixing’s own, and his thighs bulged even more impressively from where he was raised on one leg. His shorts were slightly too short for Yixing’s comfort, but he could see every ligament racing through his legs. His arms were put in a perfect position over his head; held there by strong muscles that must be so familiar with the movement. And his face – like damn. Yixing had thought the other ballet boys he had met were pretty cute, but this guy was gorgeous. He had soft eyes and plump lips and his slightly sweaty blonde hair was pushed perfectly to one side. He looked like he wasn’t even trying either as he came down easily from his position and twirled to look at them. Yixing had never felt more graced than when the man smiled at him.

               “Hey, you found the rookie!” The boy grinned over at Luhan and quickly wiped the sweat from his face with the bottom of his shirt. His abs were even impressive – this wasn’t fair at all. “This is the guy from the auditions, right?” Luhan nodded in affirmative. “You were impressive,” the guy nodded at Yixing before going to get his water bottle and taking a long chug.

               “He’s my new roommate,” Luhan explained.

               “Awe, what happened to Seokjin?” The boy asked with a pout.

               “Finally graduated,” Luhan snickered. “Only took him six years.” Luhan sighed after a moment and waved between them. “Anyway, this is Yixing. Yixing, this is Kai – our school’s golden boy.” Kai laughed sheepishly and waved Luhan off.

               “Shut up, I am not,” He grinned.

               Luhan rolled his eyes. “Well, Kai, this guy has a bit of a secret – he’s never danced before. I want you to help him out.” Yixing glanced over at his roommate in panic. Hadn’t Luhan just said not to tell anyone he hadn’t danced before?

               He could tell why Luhan had said so. Kai’s face went through a mixture of emotions all at once – confusion, realization, amusement, anger, and some more confusion. “He’s never danced,” Kai deadpanned. “Luhan… you’re kidding right? A guy whose never danced would never get in here.”

               “Well he did,” Luhan frowned. “And he’s going to go right back to China by the end of the semester if he doesn’t learn what he needs to quickly. I want you to show him the basics – tutor him, if you would.”

               Kai looked uneasy. “Luhan, I would… but…” Kai trailed off. “I’ve got a busy semester, and I don’t know how fast I’d be able to teach someone whose never taken a single class.”

               Yixing suddenly felt himself being shoved forward as Luhan pushed him toward Kai. “Well, you better get started. Weigh-in is in two hours. Teach him the basics before then.” Luhan waved a goodbye and strolled back out, leaving Yixing alone with the golden boy.

               Yixing instantly felt a little self-conscious and held each of his elbows in almost-self-hug. Kai raked his eyes over him and sighed. “Luhan is so bossy,” He laughed, probably trying to clear the air. Kai wandered over to a computer where he lowered the music volume a bit. “He thinks just cause he’s the oldest he gets to tell us all what to do.” Yixing just swallowed thickly and nodded in response. “I’ll do it though,” Kai said quickly. “I will try to show you the ropes a bit – I just don’t know how easy it will be.”

“That’s okay,” Yixing said quickly. “You don’t have to help.”

Kai laughed, “Maybe I want to.” He grinned. “It could be interesting. I watched you at auditions and you have a lot in you – you could be amazing if properly trained.”

               “Thank you,” Yixing blushed and looked down at his feet. “I’ll work really hard – and practice everything you show me.” Kai grinned and patted Yixing’s shoulder, making the other jump slightly.

               “Well then, let’s get to work.”

 

               Yixing’s legs ached by the time he and Kai left to go to the campus nurse’s office. Kai had just showed him basic positions where he just held his leg in a certain way – but damn, it was a lot harder than it looked, and Kai was a strict teacher. He had to keep all the muscles in his leg clenched, his toe perfectly pointed, as well as making sure his upper body stayed as straight as a rod. His body definitely wasn’t cut out for this yet.

               “Hey, you met Kai!” Yixing glanced up at Baekhyun who was waving at them from his position in line. Yixing followed Kai over to him, which meant they cut a ton of people who looked mildly pissed, but said nothing.

               “Yes, he met me,” Kai laughed and immediately plastered himself to Kyungoo’s side, draping himself over the smaller boy’s shoulders. “Kyungsoo~” he whined, dragging out the other’s name. “I’m tired.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and patted Kai’s cheek.

               “You can go nap after weigh-in,” Kyungsoo promised. Yixing raised an eyebrow at the two – were they really not dating?

               “Good to see you made it in time, Yixing,” Luhan said as he sidled up to his roommate.

               They were near the front of the line so it wasn’t long before they were up by the nurse who was standing next to a height-and-weight-duo scale thing. Yixing blinked as he noticed that this was by no means a private thing – your measurements were on display for everyone within range to see. His stomach churned.

               “Next,” the petite lady called out, smiling as Baekhyun bounced up. He slid off his shoes before getting onto the scale like he’d done it a hundred times – which he probably had. “Oh, Mr. Byun have you grown?” The woman gasped, making Baekhyun whip around to look at the height measurement. He turned a scowl on her as she laughed. “I’m kidding – you’re still five feet, six inches exactly.”

               “Don’t do that to me!” Baekhyun whined, crossing his arms.

               “Hush,” the woman giggled and poked at him until he stood straight again to get his weight. “You dropped a bit over the summer, Baek – only 122 pounds. You’re getting close to the minimum so try to make sure you’re eating enough protein and vegetables – got it?”

               “Got it!” Baekhyun said cheerily and hopped down to grab his shoes.

               Baekhyun was only a hundred and twenty two pounds? Yixing gaped at the scale as more and more of their little group got up onto it. They were all so tiny! None of them breached 5”7, and none of them were over 135 pounds. When Kai got up there, Yixing expected to see the same.

               “Hey, you actually did grow, Mr. Kim!” the lady cooed, pointing at the line she had settled on. “Five foot ten a _nd a half_.” Kai grinned at the number. “And you’re still perfectly at 140 pounds – keep up the good work, Kai!” Kai was taller than Yixing expected, but it made sense since he felt like he had to look up slightly to him. The number on his weight didn’t make Yixing feeling nearly as queasy as the others’ did either.

               “Next,” the woman cooed and grinned at Yixing’s frightened expression. “I don’t think I know you! What’s your name, hun?”

               “Zhang Yixing,” he whispered as he slid off his shoes.

               “Oh, a new boy!” she squealed. “Do you know the different weight limits?”

               “Uh,” Yixing stammered. “I don’t know all of them, no.”

               “Well, let’s take your height and we’ll figure it out.”

               Yixing stepped up onto the contraption and tried to stand as straight as possible as she took down his height. “Five foot nine and… a quarter. Almost a half though!” She laughed. “That means you need to be between 130 and 160 pounds,” she explained. “Being a little over or a little under is okay obviously, but if you go way over you’ll need to go see our dietitians, and if you go way under you’ll be asked to leave. Understand?” Yixing nodded.

“Now, let’s see your weight.” Yixing felt like he was trying to swallow his tongue as he stood there. “Oh,” the woman blinked at the scale before taking a step back to look at him, “I suppose that makes sense – muscle weighs more than fat of course! Your muscle is a bit bulkier than the other boys so it’d make sense you’d be a bit bigger.” Yixing glanced over but wasn’t really able to read the weird thing she did to get his weight. “You’re 170 – which, is quite a bit over what we say is the maximum, but I’d still say you’re perfectly healthy. It’s not very often we get people here who are _over_ the range. But, you’re a freshman in the dance school, so I’m sure you’ll lose a few pounds after you start your training!”

               Yixing stared at the ground the entire time he put his shoes on and walked over to his new group of friends. He felt his face flaming with heat. He was almost thirty pounds heavier than the rest of them. He wasn’t cut out to be a ballerina.

               “Wow you must be so muscular!” Baekhyun gasped when Yixing finally stood in front of them. “I mean, like, damn, your arms and legs are huge and stuff but you must have some killer abs too! What type of training did you do to get muscle like that?” Baekhyun gushed, as though his weight was a good thing and not an embarrassment.

               “Uhm,” Yixing couldn’t think of an answer and was glad for Luhan piping up again.

               “Some of the guys at my company would do sports or break dance on the side,” Luhan mused.

               Yixing nodded, “Yeah, I played soccer and did a bunch of break dance. It was sort of my specialty,” He went along with the lie. “So I guess I let my muscles get too big,” He muttered, pinching at the skin over his forearms.

               Suddenly he felt his tank top being lifted and he hesitated, confused for a second, before grabbing at the hand that was holding it up and trying to shove it back down. “Wow!” Baekhyun cooed as he poked at Yixing’s stomach. “You’ve got actual abs! I’ve just got skinny abs,” Baekhyun whined. “Kyungsoo, look at this!”

               “I can see it perfectly fine,” Kyungsoo grumbled.

               “You look like one of those American football players! Tom Brady or Arnold Schwarzenegger-”

“Dude he wasn’t a football player-”

“Or Michael Phelps or something!” Baekhyun swooned before Yixing finally ripped his shirt away and pulled it down, blushing. “You’re seriously ripped, man!” Yixing saw the others nod in agreement.

               “Even if my roommate is hot and ripped you can’t sexually harass him, Baek,” Luhan said sharply, grabbing the puppy-like boy by the ear, making him howl with ‘ow’s. “Don’t lift up his shirt or touch him without asking first. You have your own boyfriend to harass.” Baekhyun pouted and crossed his arms in defeat.

               “But he even rivals Minseok,” Baekhyun whined.

               Minseok rolled his eyes, “You could always work out with me, Baek, you always just say no.”

               Yixing looked at the squirrel-like boy in confusion. Yixing _rivaled_ him? Which meant Minseok probably had just as good of muscles if not better? The boy was so tiny – the smallest out of the group – he didn’t look like he could possibly be muscular underneath the hoodie he was wearing. Then again, Yixing thought back to the scale weights from just a few minutes ago and remember Minseok’s weight was abnormally high for his tiny frame. Yixing would have to challenge him to an arm wrestling competition or something later.

               “Come on!” Baekhyun suddenly gasped as he looked down at his phone. “Chanyeol saved us a table at the café for dinner!” The boys cheered happily and Yixing trailed after them to get food.

 

               The next few weeks passed much faster than Yixing had ever thought they would. Once classes started up, his days were packed with learning ballet _and_ learning his school load. He would meet with Kai in the evenings after dinner, and their special tutoring time was brushed off to their friends about Yixing wanting to perfect classical training since he focused too much on break dancing.

               Kai was an excellent teacher. He understood why the school hired him to teach some of the lower classes. He was patient, concise, and made everything fun, though strict enough to make sure Yixing was doing his work. When Yixing was struggling with his leaps, Kai made it into a game of tag around the studio; when Yixing couldn’t seem to get his lifts correct, Kai would dramatically fall into his arms; when Yixing never wanted to stretch before (or after) dancing, Kai would drag him to the ground and force their feet together and play rock, paper, scissors across the circle they made with their legs. Yixing enjoyed his time with Kai the most out of his hours in his days. He always found himself looking forward to their evening sessions.

               When the Fall Ballet was announced, Yixing wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming excitement that echoed through the campus. He actually saw people _running_ to the campus center to get the pamphlet and poster announcing “Peter Pan” as the show that would be put on before winter break. Yixing didn’t think too much of it.

               “Isn’t that a Disney movie?” He wondered aloud when the guys were all sat down to lunch that day.

               Minseok and Kyungsoo gaped at him. “It’s a play actually,” Kyungsoo mumbled before taking a bite of his salad. “It was adapted into a ballet.”

               “I bet its cause there are so many boys at this school,” Luhan speculated, tapping his chin. “They probably want to take advantage of how many of us they have compared to other academies.”

               “I think Baek would make a good Peter Pan – or Tinkerbell,” Chanyeol suddenly piped up, looking lovingly at his boyfriend who laughed at him.

               “Luhan would be a good Peter Pan too,” Minseok fired back defensively.

               “Yes, yes, both your boyfriend’s are fairies – we get it,” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, getting a laugh out of Kai and even the others chuckled at it.

               “Are you going to try out, Yixing?” Luhan asked, turning to him.

               Yixing felt his face fall slightly. “Uh,” he stuttered. “I don’t-I… I don’t know. I don’t know if I would make it or not.”

               “There’s no harm in trying out!” Baekhyun piped up.

               “Yeah, who knows, you might make it,” Kai grinned at him.

               Yixing sighed in resignment and got an excited coo from his cheerleaders.

 

               There was only a week between the ballet being announced and the auditions; in which Yixing put school work on the back burner and found himself in the studio from 10 am till it was time to go to bed. Kai was surprisingly willing to help him out, even though they were sort-of competition for each other. “I never think of ballet as a competition,” Kai shrugged. “Girls always get super catty and even some of the guys can let everything get to their heads. I’m here because I love ballet – everyone else _should_ be here for the same thing.” Yixing decided he definitely liked Kai.

               “You’re looking a lot slimmer,” Kai commented when Yixing was cooling down after practice the day before tryouts. “All the ballet must be overriding your break dancing,” he laughed as he wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt. Yixing did not look at his abs.

               “I haven’t lost any weight,” Yixing groaned.

               “Well, like the Ms. Min always says,” Kai cleared his throat and began a perfect imitation of the peppy nurse, “‘Muscle weighs more than fat!’ She always tells me that if I gain any weight – I never tell her its cause sometimes I just want to eat some goddamn pasta and pastries.” Yixing laughed good naturedly. “But really dude, you’re looking great. Though, I did like the biceps the size of my head.” Yixing rubbed at his arms that even he had noticed had shrunk a little bit.

               “So,” Yixing hummed as he stood up, shaking out his arms and cracking his shoulders. “Do you think I’ll make it?”

               “Definitely at least an extra,” Kai nodded happily.

               “I’m sure you’ll get Peter,” Yixing smiled at him.

               “Oh no, I don’t want Peter,” Kai looked almost horrified. “I want to be Hook!” He shouted, thrusting forward as if he had a sword. Yixing put his hands up in surrender and laughed. “I think Baekhyun will get Peter.”

               “Really?” Yixing blinked at him. Baekhyun had barged in on them a few days ago, demanding Kai teach him more ballet, and Yixing had seen him at several of the beginners classes Kai taught. But still, Baekhyun was a tap dancer – was he really good enough to get a lead role? “What makes you say that?”

               “His passion,” Kai hummed as he packed his dance bag, hefting it on his shoulder to show he was ready to go. “He really wants this – and Byun Baekhyun always gets what he wants.”

 

               Kai was spot on.

               The cast list was posted only a few hours after tryouts ended – which made Yixing feel like they almost already knew who was going to get each part – and Yixing could tell who had gotten the lead by Chanyeol’s whooping and Baekhyun’s high pitch screaming. Minseok was rubbing his ears when Yixing walked into the campus center to see the list. “What a noisy boy,” he mumbled and glanced over at Yixing. His squirrel-like face turned into an ear to ear grin. “Yixing! Dude! Did you see the list yet?”

               Yixing shook his head. “No, I had class after tryouts, I only just got here.” Minseok shoved him lightly on the back, urging him forward.

               _Fall Ballet – “Peter Pan”_

_Peter Pan ; Byun Baekhyun_

_Peter Pan Understudy ; Kim Taehyung_

_Wendy ; Lalisa Manoban_

_Wendy Understudy ; Jennie Kim_

_Captain Hook ; Kim Kai_

_Captain Hook Understudy ; Zhang Yixing_

_Lost Boys:_

_Do Kyungsoo_

_Kim Junmyeon_

_Lu Han_

_Kim Minseok_

_Mr. Darling ; Wu Yifan_

_Mrs. Darling ; Seo Hyerin_

_Tiger Lilly ; Park Junghwa_

Yixing gaped at the list. His name was on there. Him. Zhang Yixing. How the _hell_ was he on there with all the best dancers at the school? “What’s an understudy?” He found himself asking aloud, only to realize what a stupid question it was when Minseok looked at him with confusion. “That’s when you’re the person who plays the part if the lead gets hurt or sick right?” Yixing asked quickly. “I’ve only heard that word in Korean a few times,” he explained.

               “Oh, yeah,” Minseok nodded. “Sometimes I forget you’re from China.” Yixing couldn’t tell whether he should be happen about that or not. “But yeah – you’ll be learning Captain Hook’s part alongside Kai. And if he somehow gets hurt or sick, you get to be Hook.”

               “So they think I’m as good as Kai?” Yixing asked in wonder.

               Minseok laughed, “Not _as good_ – but good enough to be trusted with the part if Kai dies.”

               “Congrats Yixing!” Yixing turned just before Kai tackle-hugged him from the back, nuzzling into his neck and hugging him tightly around the stomach. Kai had recently been like that – touchy, almost like he was with Kyungsoo, but now Yixing was on the receiving end of the touches. Yixing still wasn’t sure how to handle it. “We’re going to work together even more now! I’m so proud that you got a part! Even an understudy is such an accomplishment as a freshman!”

               “Yeah, that is pretty great,” Luhan complimented as he walked up. “I’m impressed, Xing, you’ve already made a bit of a name for yourself here,” his roommate grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

               “It looks like basically everyone got a part,” Yixing hummed as his eyes scanned over the list one last time – still not believing his name was actually there.

               “Yeah – it’s mostly juniors and sophomores somehow, only a few seniors,” Kai said, tracing his finger over the name “Wu Yifan” and “Kim Junmyeon.”

               “Yifan is so hot,” Luhan cooed. “I can’t wait to work with him again.”

               “Dude, I’m right here,” Minseok pouted.

               “You agreed he was hot,” Luhan pointed out.

               “Like, he is, but I’m still your boyfriend,” Minseok puffed out his cheeks cutely until Luhan poked the air out of them. Yixing couldn’t help smiling at how cute they were together.

               “Yifan is pretty hot,” Kai laughed.

               “Is he gay?” Baekhyun piped up from where he had bounced over to them.

               “There was a rumor he and Junmyeon were together last year,” Luhan stage whispered.

               “That would be awesome if he was gay,” Baekhyun said dreamily.

               “You also have a boyfriend,” Minseok pointed out. “And, we _are_ at a dance school – is there any guy here whose totally straight?”

               “Yixing never said what gender he likes,” Kai pointed out, looking to Yixing who was having trouble keeping up with their quick-talking Korean.

               “Uh,” Yixing stuttered – a habit he had suddenly acquired since coming to Seoul.

               “You don’t just ask someone that, Kai,” Luhan flicked the younger’s forehead.

               “Why not?” Kai pouted, rubbing at his forehead.

               “No, it’s fine,” Yixing said quickly. “I guess it’s probably better than people making assumptions,” he mumbled, trailing off until he realized everyone was still looking at him. “I like guys,” he admitted. “But I had a girlfriend in highschool.”

               “So you’re bi,” Minseok shrugged.

               “I guess,” Yixing thought for a moment, unable to figure out how to put his feelings into words. “I just don’t care about gender – I just like a person for who they are,” He said eventually.

               “So, pansexual,” Kai said, perking up. “That’s what I am!”

               “Yeah right, Kim,” Baekhyun snorted. “ _You?_ Liking _girls_?” the boy laughed. “That’s the best joke I’ve heard all year.” Kai smacked him in the back of the head.

 

               Dancing got a lot harder from there on.

               Yixing found his limbs, which had finally gotten used to the ballet movements he was making himself do, were aching with all the new tricks they were forced to learn. Kai looked graceful and perfect doing the same moves he tumbled over. It was just so _difficult_. He never thought he would be on the side of people who angrily screamed that dance was a sport – but fuck, this was a lot harder than soccer.

               “We should practice together tomorrow morning,” Kai said, plunking down next to him on the studio floor where he was slumped half-heartedly against his legs in a sort-of stretch. He was fucking exhausted, and he had to wrench his eyes open to see Kai’s grinning face. “I have Studio A tomorrow at 10 until 2! We could practice together and make sure everything is right.”

               Yixing wanted to sleep for 80 years, but he supposed spending a Saturday with Kai would be fun too.

               It was raining when he was running to Studio A, so he accidentally got his warmup and a shower at the same time. By the time he got into the building, he had to shake out his hair like a dog.

               Kai was already swaying to the music he had put on; crackling his feet in a horribly bent looking way that always made Yixing think his foot was broken, and lazily moving through basic footwork. He turned and spotted his positions without much effort – but he still looked gorgeous. “Oh, hey,” Kai greeted with a smile and a little wave when he noticed Yixing in the mirror. “Ready to dance?”

               “No,” Yixing yawned honestly. “My feet feel like they’re going to fall off,” he shuffled back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Nope, scratch that – I can’t feel them anymore.” Kai laughed at him.

               “Well, you better stretch until you can feel them because we gotta get this routine perfect,” Kai waved a finger at him.

               “I don’t see why I need to,” Yixing sighed, slumping to the ground to reach for his toes. “I won’t even actually be performing.”

               “It’s just in case,” Kai shrugged. “We even have an understudy for you just in the chance of you and I both getting hurt - Kim Junmyeon is also learning the basics of Captain Hook. Everything is just a precaution,” Kai smiled at him. “You still gotta learn it.” Yixing grumbled to himself as he cracked his joints.

               Yixing enjoyed doing the routine they had to learn a lot more than just the basics he’d been practicing for so long. He felt like he was accomplishing something when he finally put everything together to do an actual dance. Not to mention that Hook’s dance was much more powerful than the rest of the fluttering routines Yixing had watched the fairies and Darling children do. Captain Hook used a lot more strength behind each of his movements, and it made Yixing feel a bit more comfortable falling back to his old habits from dancing for fun. “You’ve improved so much,” Kai panted slightly after Yixing had followed behind him in the routine, watching himself and Kai in the mirror as they moved at the same time. He found he was always at the end of a beat, while Kai was always at the beginning, which made him look like he was falling behind – he would have to work on that. “I wish I could tell everyone you’ve never danced before – you’re definitely my greatest accomplishment,” Kai grinned.

               “You’re a wonderful teacher,” Yixing said sheepishly, sipping at his water bottle. He could feel his bones aching beneath his skin, and he slumped hard against the wall as he sloshed down his water. Kai fell next to him and sighed in contentment.

               “I’d say we should do one more run through, and then we can be done,” Kai nodded to himself. Yixing glanced at the clock which read a little past noon. He sighed and tilted his head back against the cold of the wall. “Or not,” Kai laughed. “If you’re tired we can call it quits.”

               “Actually, I’d love to watch just you dance,” Yixing said after a moment of thinking. “I feel like it might help me to just watch – maybe see things I’ve been struggling with and watch closely as to how they’re done,” he explained quickly. Kai smiled to himself before nodding and going to put on the music.

               Yixing couldn’t help staring when Kai danced – and this time he would actually get to watch without fearing Kai being confused at his stares. Kai was gorgeous, and when he danced he looked like a god. Yixing was reminded of the Greek Myth of Apollo – Kai glowed like the sun with his smile, his blonde hair and his contrasting bronzed skin. Yixing watched the muscles winding through the other’s legs and arms flex and relax as he twisted and turned through the routine. Yixing wondered if he looked that good when he was trying to dance, and figured he probably didn’t. Kai was the perfect dancer. He deserved all the recognition he always received.

               “Like what you see?” Kai smirked as he came down from his final position, the music fading away in the speakers. Yixing suddenly became aware that his mouth was open, so he promptly snapped his jaw shut.

               “You’re just a really amazing dancer,” Yixing mumbled, looking down as Kai drifted closer. He squatted in front of Yixing and cooed, poking at his cheek where his dimple sometimes was.

               “I was just messing with you,” Kai giggled. Yixing glanced up at him to realize he was extremely close, and tried to shuffle back slightly, only to be stopped by the wall getting in the way. Kai tilted his head to the side cutely as he noticed Yixing’s distress. “What’s wrong?” Kai asked, reaching forward to tug on the strings of Yixing’s hoodie. Yixing could only shake his head. “You said you like guys, right?” Kai asked all of a sudden, which Yixing could only stare at him in confusion. “I wanted to ask you on a date when I first met you – all adorable and confused and shy; not knowing anything about ballet with your clumsy limbs,” Kai chuckled to himself. “But I figured you were straight until you said you weren’t yesterday,” he glanced up to catch Yixing’s eye with his own confident stare.

               “I,” Yixing mumbled. “I thought you had a thing with Kyungsoo,” Yixing blurted out the first thing he could think of. Kyungsoo had denied it before, saying they were just good friends, but Yixing couldn’t fully believe that with how comfortable and touchy they were together.

               Kai looked confused but then sighed in annoyance. “We’ve been friends for years – but no, we’re not dating. I don’t see him that way,” Kai hummed. Yixing couldn’t help feeling a little bad for the tiny black haired ballet boy he’d befriended – he was obviously enamored with his friend who had no idea of his feelings. “It’s not often a guy actually catches my attention,” Kai admitted. “I know all the guys seem to think I’m 100% gay – but I’ve only been with one guy before, other than that I’ve had girlfriends,” he shrugged. “Girls are a lot easier than guys – there’s always that chance that guys are straight and will freak out if you admit your feelings to them.” Kai glanced up at him again, “But you aren’t straight.”

               Yixing shook his head. “No, I’m not,” he breathed. He hadn’t actually had a boyfriend either – just messy make outs in the middle of clubs or quick hookups after a night of dancing. He’d had two girlfriends in high school, but that was all he knew of dating.

               “Can I kiss you?” Kai asked, and Yixing suddenly realized they were both whispering, even though they were the only ones in the room with music playing softly in the corners. Yixing licked his lips instinctively and nodded slowly. Before he was able to fully prepared, Kai was leaning forward and capturing his lips with his own.

               Kai kissed like he danced. Yixing felt like his mouth was being led in a rhythm that Kai set. His plush lips were just as soft as Yixing thought they would be, but also just as powerful and graceful as the rest of his movements. Yixing felt himself gasp as Kai’s tongue swept over his lip and allowed him in. Yixing reached up to grab the bottom of Kai’s hair, winding his fingers through the blonde locks, just for something to anchor him as he felt his head swim. Kai’s hand was gripping his jaw, angling him perfectly for him to be able to explore his mouth fully. Yixing had never felt so exhausted kissing anybody before.

               When Kai pulled back Yixing leaned forward again for another kiss, making the other boy laugh and peck him once more on the lips. “You’re so cute,” Kai cooed. “You seemed like such a macho man when you first came here, but you’re really just a teddy bear.”

               “Nuh huh,” Yixing pouted. “ _You’re_ the teddy bear.”

               “Fine, if I’m the teddy bear, you’re a bunny,” Kai grinned.

               “My mom always called me a lamb,” Yixing hummed, letting his hands drop from where they were petting over Kai’s hair to run over his thin t-shirt.

               “Little lamb,” Kai cooed at him again. His smile was as big as Chanyeol’s. “So, will you?”

               “Will I what?” Yixing asked, furrowing his brow.

               “Go on a date with me?” Kai tilted his head.

               “Of course I will,” Yixing laughed. “But when the hell will we have time to go on a date between school and the show?”

               Kai hummed, thinking for a second. “You’re right, maybe we should skip the dating part and just start making out whenever we want to.”

               “I can go with that,” Yixing laughed.

               And that’s how he somehow was walking through campus holding the infamous Kim Kai’s hand. People gaped at them as they headed to dinner; one pair of hands clamped together and the other ones holding coffee. Baekhyun was the first one to scream at them. “Why didn’t you tell us?” His voice had reached inhuman pitches.

               “It only just happened,” Kai had assured him.

               “I didn’t even know you guys were interested in each other,” Luhan raised an eyebrow at Yixing like ‘dude I’m your roommate why didn’t you tell me.’

               “To be honest, I kind of just jumped Yixing and forced him to be my boyfriend – which was this morning. We skipped the dating because that’s way too complicated as dancers,” Kai laughed at all their confused faces.

               “You two are weird,” Luhan sighed.

               “I think you two are cute!” Minseok decided as he happily munched on some French fries.

               Yixing smiled as they all messed around and joked with Kai about him seducing every newbie that seemed to enter this school and Kai insisting that the majority of those were just girls falling in love with him because he was actually nice. Yixing’s smile dropped slightly at Kyungsoo’s far away expression. The smaller refused to look over at the two of them, staring out at the busy cafeteria instead as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

               “Does this mean we can go on triple dates?” Baekhyun gasped suddenly, pulling on Chanyeol’s arm.

               “Soo’s just gotta get himself a boyfriend,” Chanyeol laughed, shoving Kyungsoo’s shoulder playfully and getting his hand bitten for his trouble. “That Junmyeon guy is cute.”

               “He’s dating Yifan though,” Baekhyun pointed out.

               “That was never officially recognized,” Minseok pointed out.

               “Sehun is also hot as hell,” Luhan said, sipping at his soda.

               “Whose Sehun?” Kai asked.

               “He’s the freshman that came in – super tall, lanky, kinda awkward dancer guy. He’s blonde, always looks like he’s about to kill someone, and definitely has the best ass out of any of the boys here,” Minseok ticked off the description. “He apparently is actually a major pushover and really sensitive – Lisa said he cried at his first tap class cause the shoes hurt his feet.”

               “Oh~ _That_ kid?” Baekhyun asked, thinking. “He was a brat, but definitely hot. The teacher asked me to help him out with private tutoring, but he refused when I offered it. He’s kinda snooty.”

               “I don’t want to date some random hot freshman,” Kyungsoo snapped.

               “But we can go on quadruple dates if you get a boyfriend!” Baekhyun whined.

               “Fuck off,” Kyungsoo grumbled, looking away again.

               Baekhyun was about to whine at him again before he caught Yixing’s eye and he gave a small shake of his head. Baekhyun deflated and grumbled to himself instead.

 

               “I’d watch out if I were you,” Luhan said almost immediately when their dorm room door closed. “Kyungsoo is the one that shoved Tao down the stairs. You might just get stabbed in your sleep for stealing his boy.”

               “I didn’t steal him,” Yixing protested. “Kai is the one that came on to me – plus, I actually asked about Kyungsoo! Kai said they were just friends – I don’t think he even knows Kyungsoo likes him.”

               “I’m just warning you,” Luhan hummed as he stripped off his shirt and went to find PJs. “Maybe we really should try to get him with Sehun.”

               “I doubt he’d appreciate that,” Yixing mumbled as he pulled off his own clothes to climb into bed in his boxers.

               “Yes, but it might distract him from planning your death,” Luhan laughed.

               “Why didn’t he ever confess to Kai?” Yixing wondered aloud.

               “Well,” Luhan thought for a moment before tugging on a sweatshirt Yixing had definitely seen Minseok in the other day. “They were in the same dance company – and apparently were even in the same little dance school when they were kids. They grew up together and were best friends.” Luhan paused as he tucked himself under his covers and stared out at Yixing from his cocoon. “Baekhyun said, one time when Kyungsoo actually opened up to him, he told him that Kyungsoo _did_ try to confess to Kai – but did it in front of a ton of people from their dance school since it was when they were still young. All the boys started laughing and calling them names, and Kai was wicked embarrassed and obviously as a little boy being bullied decided to turn around and join the boys in calling Kyungsoo names. When they became friends again – allegedly after Kai made him cry one time and felt bad – Kai told him to not like him anymore, basically to get over his feelings because Kai didn’t like him like that. So, Kyungsoo has been there through all of Kai’s relationships and hookups, always stuck in the friend zone. And, as you saw, Kai completely ignores the fact that he knows Kyungsoo likes him, and still just treats him like they’re BFFs.”

               “Wow,” Yixing whispered after a few moments. “That’s… kinda crazy.”

               “Yeah,” Luhan hummed. “That’s the only instance of Kai ever being mean too – he’s always so wonderful and kind to everyone he meets, I was shocked when I heard he actually called Kyungsoo names. I’ve always wondered why he had such a strong reaction to Kyungsoo confessing to him when they were kids.”

               “Maybe I’ll ask him,” Yixing decided.

               “Go for it,” Luhan yawned. “Maybe he’ll actually give you some answers,” his roommate yawned again and rolled over onto his side. “Goodnight,” he said and turned out the light.

               “Night,” Yixing whispered to the darkness.

 

               “Hey boyfriend,” Kai called as he slid into the seat next to Yixing, leaning over to wrap his arm tightly around the other and kiss his cheek. Yixing grinned at him.

               “Your boyfriend has a name, ya know,” Minseok rolled his eyes from where he and Luhan were leaned over their books at the table they had stationed themselves at nearly two hours earlier. Yixing had finished his homework a while ago and had been enjoying the free time to do absolutely nothing. But, Kai’s arm around him was a nice distraction from his nothing-doing.

               “Yeah, don’t tell me you two are gonna be all gross and not call each other by your actually names,” Luhan stuck out his tongue in disgust.

               “What? Like calling each other babe? Boo? Sweetheart? You call Minseok Baozi,” Kai laughed.

               “That’s different,” Luhan insisted. “That’s only sometimes.”

               “Yeah, yeah,” Kai waved him off and turned to Yixing. “Wanna go to the store with me?”

               Yixing nodded happily and packed up his stuff to follow his boyfriend out.

               The past three weeks of dating Kai had been great. When they weren’t practicing for Captain Hook they were hanging out with their friends (normally cuddled together in the same seat) and when they weren’t with other people they had begun to enjoy each other’s mouths company. Yixing still couldn’t get over how fun it was to kiss Kai. Of course, he also just enjoyed holding the other boy’s hand and simply being around him, so he was probably a little bias.

               Kai’s hand was tight around his own as they dawdled to the store. They didn’t mind taking a long time to walk anywhere together. Yixing’s heart suddenly started thumping as he figured this might be a good time to ask Kai about Kyungsoo – he had been meaning to ever since Luhan and him had talked all those weeks ago, but between practice and learning how to date Kai, he hadn’t gotten a chance. “Kai,” Yixing asked after a few moments of silence. “Can I ask something?”

               “Sure,” Kai cooed at him, poking at his pinking cheek.

               “What happened with Kyungsoo?” he asked, looking up at Kai whose face physically fell.

               “What do you mean?”

               “Luhan told me Kyungsoo confessed to you – and, I dunno, that you were like, mean to him,” Yixing stuttered, unable to figure out the right words. Kai sucked in a large breath and sighed it out.

               “Yeah, I’ve always regretted doing that to him,” Kai frowned. “But, what do you want to know about it?”

               “Just, why did you react how you did?” Yixing shrugged.

               Kai laughed, “I was thirteen. I’m pretty sure any still-in-the-closet boy who just got confessed to by another boy who was super cute would react the same way. All the boys were being mean to both of us, so I figured if I joined in they would leave me alone. It was a dick move, but that was all – I was terrified of people know I actually did like guys.”

               “Oh,” Yixing nodded. That actually made a bit of sense – he had hid his attraction to boys as his biggest secret until he was much older.

               “I know he still likes me,” Kai sighed. “I wish he wouldn’t – I was such a bad person to him – but he’s been my best friend for so long now, I figured he’s forgiven me. I really should formally apologize. It’s something that happened nearly a decade ago though – and it’s something the two of us never bring up.”

               “What happened when you finally did come out?” Yixing asked.

               “Kyungsoo was pissed when I got a boyfriend,” Kai laughed sadly. “I felt bad, but it was true that I really don’t feel that way about him. I don’t mean to ‘put him in the friend zone’ as most people say nowadays, but I couldn’t take advantage of his feelings and say I liked him just to try to make him feel better. We’re both adults now – he should be able to handle it.” Kai paused for a second. “Also, tell me if he bothers you.”

               “I don’t think he will,” Yixing laughed. “I don’t get why you all are so scared of him.”

               “He can just get kind of… competitive,” Kai shrugged. “Like I told you – some boys get the competition for dancing in their head too much. Kyungsoo is just like that with everything. He can be a little mean when he doesn’t get what he wants.” Yixing nodded in understanding. “What about you? How did you come out?”

               Yixing blushed slightly and laughed awkwardly. “Well, I had shoved myself pretty far into the closet until my senior year of high school. I don’t know why I did because my mom is actually totally supportive and everything. But, I had forced myself into being straight – I had a couple girlfriends and everything – and then in senior year a couple of my friends and I went clubbing and I made out with a guy. All my friends weren’t too surprised, but I was a little angry I had let it happened.”

               Kai laughed, “Why angry?”

               “If I came out, I wish I had gotten to do something a little less,” Yixing blushed brighter. “Embarrassing…”

               “I think it’s pretty funny,” Kai grinned. “Don’t be embarrassed over something like that.” Yixing laughed and nodded along. They headed into the store to pick up some basic groceries to shove in their dorm rooms, and quickly made their way back to campus before it got too dark.

 

               The Spring Ballet was only a week away, and Yixing was suddenly feeling the pressure. Kai was in tip-top shape, so Yixing had no reason to think he would get to go up on stage, but he felt his heart jump into his throat every time they went to dress rehearsal and he was forced into his own Captain Hook costume. Kai looked stunning (of course) in his ruffles and fake moustache, accented with the dramatic eye makeup that flared almost out to his temples. Baekhyun looked adorable with his hair curled and his green costume that he liked to twirl in to show how it fluttered around him. All the girls looked gorgeous in their stage makeup, and even the lost boys looked fantastic in their fake dirt and tattered costumes. Chanyeol was all of their personal cheerleader. He was (for some reason) allowed backstage and wooped for them each time they fluttered off stage. Yixing joined in and clapped for each of his fellow friends.

               “Wanna come over to mine after rehearsal today?” Kai asked casually as he tugged on his tights. Yixing glanced over at him and tilted his head. “Kyungsoo is going out tonight so we can have the room to ourselves to watch a movie or cuddle or something.”

               “Sure,” he agreed.

               His stomach was doing flips as the final scene finished and Kai was waving him along to lead him to his residence hall. Yixing had never actually been to Kai and Kyungsoo’s dorm room – he’d never even seen the hall that they lived in which was across campus from his own residence. The room was pretty basic when Kai unlocked the door. One side was decorated with a couple of ballet posters from movie adaptations that Yixing had never seen. Kyungsoo’s side was perfectly neutral – blacks, whites and greys, and everything was perfectly in order. “Have you ever seen Black Swan?” Kai asked, pointing at the poster with a slightly terrifying ballerina on it hanging above his desk.  Yixing shook his head. “It was a pretty intense movie, not gonna lie,” Kai hummed as he fell onto his bed, arching his back in a stretch. “Dress rehearsals are gonna be the death of me,” he sighed. Yixing gingerly sat down in the chair that was next to Kai’s desk, still staring around like the room was the most interesting in the world. “Hey, get over here – I want cuddles,” Kai whined, putting out his arms with grabby hands. Yixing laughed light heartedly and let himself be dragged into Kai’s octopus grip.

               They’d cuddled plenty of times, but never on Kai’s bed, in Kai’s room, when Kai’s roommate wasn’t there. They’d been alone in Yixing’s room several times, but they had been diligent students cramming in homework and study time while also trying to spend a couple hours together. They’d never had a room to themselves to be able to just be together. Yixing’s heart was hammering.

               “You’re always so warm,” Kai sighed happily from where he was cuddled against Yixing’s chest.

               “You all are just so skinny – none of you have any fat to keep you warm,” Yixing pointed out, grabbing at Kai’s stomach where he could only pinch skin, no fat. Kai giggled and shoved at his hands.

               “You’ve lost a ton of weight,” Kai said, grabbing at Yixing’s stomach in retaliation. “So, that can’t be it.” Kai sighed, “I kinda miss your muscles.”

               “Hey, I’m still pretty fit,” Yixing flexed his bicep, making his boyfriend giggle. Kai reached up and squeezed, “ooh”ing appropriately.

               “You’re really hot,” Kai said with a grin. “And you don’t even seem to know it.”

               “Uhm, have you seen yourself?” Yixing raised an eyebrow.

               “Yeah, I have. I’m good looking and all but you look just so strong and damn – you’re like a god or something,” Kai cooed.

               “Nope, definitely not – that’s you. I remember thinking you reminded me of Apollo,” Yixing admitted.

               “Really?” Kai laughed.

               “Yeah – you shine,” Yixing grinned.

               “You’re cute,” Kai hummed and closed his eyes, comfortably leaning into Yixing’s shoulder. His hand was starting to tingle and fall asleep where it was trapped against the mattress.

               Kai’s cute cuddling only lasted a little while before he was tossing his long leg over Yixing’s hips and tugging himself onto his lap. Kai grinned down at him with a glint in his eye before capturing his mouth with his own. Yixing could only smile as he kissed back, letting his boyfriend take the lead as usual, trying to not think about Kai’s ass which was right over his crotch. It was becoming much more difficult as he felt Kai’s hips begin to wriggle and grind down against him. Yixing gasped and Kai grinned down at him. “Is something wrong?” Kai asked innocently as he moved his hips in small circles. Yixing could feel all the blood in his body rushing south.

               “You’re gonna be the death of me,” Yixing muttered and only noticed he had slipped into Mandarin when he saw Kai’s confused face.

               “You always start speaking Chinese when you get turned on,” Kai giggled, raising his hand to his mouth cutely.

               “Shut up,” Yixing groaned. “It’s hard to make my brain think correctly sometimes.”

               “It’s cute,” Kai assured, leaning back down to kiss at Yixing’s neck, getting an immediate twitch out of him and a groan. “It’s also cute that you’re so sensitive.” Yixing pouted at him but allowed his boyfriend to kiss down the column of his throat to his collarbones which he ravished with kisses and little nips. Kai had warned they could get punished if hickeys could be seen with their costumes on, so they couldn’t leave any marks behind just in case foundation couldn’t cover them up.

               It was new when Kai’s hand began to move up from his hips and played with the hem of his shirt. His thumb dipped beneath the fabric to rub at the skin of his hipbone. He glanced up at Yixing through his eyelashes and raised an eyebrow. Yixing nodded in permission and Kai’s hands were immediately all over him. Kai had a lot larger hands than Yixing would have thought for a guy that was still relatively petite, even if he was technically taller than him. They ran over the ridges of Yixing’s abdomen and brushed over his nipples, pulling a short moan from the Chinese boy’s mouth.

               Kai tugged off his shirt in one fluid sweep which made Yixing start tugging at his sweatshirt so he wouldn’t be the only one topless. Kai obliged quickly. Yixing couldn’t help thinking that Kai felt warm too as their chests pressed together as they kissed – why did Kai always insist Yixing was a furnace?

               Yixing wrapped his arms tightly around Kai, keeping him put so he could lick into his mouth. Kai was always a touchy person, even when they were in public he always had to have a hand on Yixing, so he shouldn’t have been surprised that his hands seemed to have to touch everywhere when they were allowed to. It wasn’t long before they were dipping into the band of his jeans and Kai was shuffling slightly on his lap. “Wait,” Yixing gasped. Kai’s hands immediately halted and he looked up at Yixing worriedly.

               “What? What did I do?” He panicked.

               “Nothing, just,” Yixing groaned, wrapping his arms around his face that was burning up. “Is this seriously happening?”

               Yixing felt Kai smack his chest. “Don’t scare me like that!” Kai whined. “I thought I was molesting you or something, holy shit.” Yixing peeked out shyly from between his arms and smiled slightly. “Can I take your pants off then?”

               “Yes, but yours come off too,” Yixing said.

               “Deal,” Kai agreed and slipped Yixing’s jeans off and quickly pulled off his own sweats.

               “Do you know what you’re doing?” Yixing gasped against the cold air on his legs.

               “Are you asking if I’ve ever had sex with a guy before?” Kai raised his eyebrow. Yixing nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, I had a boyfriend freshman year,” Kai grinned and ran his hand over the bulge that was beginning to grow at the front of Yixing’s boxers. “Have you?” Yixing shook his head.

               “I made out with a few guys,” Yixing mumbled. “And like, jacked each other off, but nothing more than that,” Yixing gasped the last word as Kai squeezed.

               “Oh,” Kai cooed. “Do I get to take your boy virginity?”

               “Is that what we’re doing right now?” Yixing gasped, bucking up into Kai’s hand.

               “That was the plan,” Kai laughed. He slid his hand into Yixing’s boxers to wrap his palm tightly around his shaft. “Is that okay?”

               “Definitely okay,” Yixing groaned.

               Kai’s movements were just as fluid as everything he does. His hand squeezed and pulled in a perfect friction over Yixing’s dick, making him race toward his orgasm way too quickly. “You’re gonna need to stop or you’re going to make me come,” Yixing panted quickly.

               “Fine,” Kai sighed and pulled back to pull Yixing’s boxers off. “Your dick is so pretty though,” he said, running his palm over it again. “Just like the rest of you.” Yixing kicked at his chest with his foot halfheartedly. Kai giggled at him before removing his own briefs. His cock wasn’t nearly as hard as Yixing’s, but he was definitely excited too as he swung his leg over his hips to grind against Yixing again. He lined up their dicks and rubbed them together slowly. “Which do you prefer? Top or bottom?”

               “I’ve still never been with a guy,” Yixing reminded him, swallowing thickly.

               “Oh, right,” Kai hummed. “Which would you wanna try?”

               Yixing considered for a moment. Having Kai inside him or being inside of Kai both sounded wonderful. “Either,” Yixing said simply.

               “You’re so helpful,” Kai laughed and reached over to his nightstand to pull out a little bottle. Yixing watched as he coated his fingers with the lube and leaned forward, reaching behind himself. Yixing could only stare as his face pulled with the feelings of pleasure he was giving himself as he prepped himself. Yixing reached around to squeeze at his ass, and leaned up to kiss his lips. Kai immediately responded and Yixing could feel him speed up his ministrations. Yixing sort of wished he could have prepped his boyfriend, but figured it probably wasn’t the right time to learn how to do that – it seemed kind of complicated.

               “Okay,” Kai gasped into his mouth. “I think I’m good,” He groaned as he pulled his digits out of himself and reached to grab a little square foil package from his drawer. He rolled the condom down onto Yixing’s dick and quickly coated it with lube as well.

               “Someone is eager,” Yixing mumbled and quickly repeated himself in Korean when Kai gave him a look. Kai laughed.

               “I’ve been wanting you in my bed since I saw you doing lifts with the girls during your audition,” Kai grinned.

               Yixing didn’t get to respond before Kai was lining himself up and sinking down onto Yixing.

               The heat and tightness was nearly unbearable. Yixing felt himself gasp and his back arch, but he forced himself to keep his hips stationed. Not that it seemed to matter since Kai was seated fully within just a few seconds, groaning in pleasure and tilting his head back. Yixing wanted to mark the milky white of his throat. When Kai wriggled slightly, Yixing couldn’t help the long moan dragged from his lips. Kai giggled. “You good?”

               “Yeah,” Yixing muttered.

               “Can I move?”

               “As long as you’re good,” Yixing assured.

               Kai wriggled again, looking toward the ceiling as though he was thinking. “You’re bigger than I thought you would be,” he giggled. “Thick – just like the rest of you.” Yixing pinched at his hipbone, making Kai squeal and quickly raise himself and fall back down.

               Kai’s excellent thigh muscles were coming in handy for the quick pace he set for himself. Yixing felt similar to when they were dancing together – Kai was just a little faster as he came down than when Yixing raised his hips to meet him. Kai was moaning above him though, so he felt like he was probably doing fine. Yixing let Kai continue for a while, until he could feel the other’s legs trembling, before he got the confidence to quickly flip them over so Kai was pinned beneath him. Kai gasped and stared up at him in shock. Yixing grinned at him, his dimple poking out, before stabilizing himself and going back to the harsh, fast pace Kai had set before.

               The backs of Kai’s thighs were beginning to pink where Yixing’s hipbones were hitting him roughly. Kai’s head was thrown back, his hands gripping the sheets of his bed, as little moans were being ripped from his throat. Yixing groaned. “I’m getting close,” he warned, picking up the pace slightly. Kai reached forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Yixing’s neck, holding onto him as though it was for dear life. Yixing reached between them to tug at Kai’s cock.

               It was only a short time later that Kai suddenly clenched around him. The already tight heat got even tighter until Yixing felt slightly suffocated, and Kai’s arms crushed around his shoulders before he was spilling onto his stomach between them with a long moan. Yixing pressed in only a couple more times before following suit.

               Kai was panting where he lay on the bed as Yixing quickly tied of the condom and wiped him off with a couple of tissues. Yixing couldn’t be surprised at how cuddly Kai got after sex, and was content to curl into his warmth and let him nuzzle into him like a cat. “I knew those hips of yours would be strong,” Kai purred against his ear contentedly. Yixing giggled slightly and nosed along Kai’s jaw.

               “Glad to know I didn’t disappoint,” he mumbled back.

               “Definitely didn’t disappoint,” Kai grinned. “We should do that more often now. Like, everyday.”

               “Calm down,” Yixing laughed. “We are dancers remember, we can’t be over exerting before something important – the Ballet is next week.”

               Kai groaned, “I keep forgetting.” He wound his arms tighter around Yixing.

               “You’re going to be wonderful,” Yixing smiled at him. Kai poked at his dimple.

               “I wish you were Peter Pan so I could dance on stage with you,” Kai hummed.

               “Baekhyun is an amazing Peter,” Yixing smiled.

               “Yeah, but I’d have liked watching your cute little ass prancing around on stage instead – it definitely would keep more motivated throughout the show,” Kai smirked at him and reached around to grip his ass tightly.

               "I don't think Captain Hook is supposed to want to fuck Peter Pan," Yixing raised an eyebrow and Kai snorted a laugh. “I’ll prance around on the stage sides so you can see my ass, okay?” Yixing compromised.

               “Hm,” Kai hummed. “I guess I can agree to that.”

               “Good,” Yixing kissed the crown of his head and found his eyes shutting and his mind drifting off to sleep.

               “I get to top next time though,” Kai said suddenly into the darkness.

               Yixing snorted, “And here I thought you were this cute, innocent little ballet boy – but no, you’re just a horny teenager like the rest of us.” Kai pinched his arm, making Yixing jump.

               “You chose this,” Kai reminded him.

               “Sure I did, cause you’re hot,” Yixing shrugged.

               “That’s the only reason you said yes?” Kai scowled at him.

               Yixing chuckled. “No, of course not,” he sighed contentedly, smiling small. “You’re also very kind, a really good teacher, and definitely the best dancer in the entire school. You’re somehow an actually decent person even with that gorgeous face of yours – I couldn’t give up that opportunity.”

               Kai snuggled into him without another word. Yixing could feel his eyelashes against his sternum. “You’re a great dancer too, Xing,” Kai hummed softly. Yixing kissed his forehead again.

               “Go to sleep,” he whispered.

               Kai nodded and grew fully limp against Yixing as he drift off.

               Yixing was beginning to understand why he had insisted on coming to Seoul.


End file.
